Posted 3 years ago
Monday, Iran's Revolutionary Guard seized a South Korean-flagged ship in the Persian Gulf. Furthermore Iran has, in violation of its nuclear deal, enriched uranium up to 20 percent according to a government spokesperson.
The seized tanker is reported to have had twenty crew members on board. The US State Department said it was tracking reports that the Iranian regime has detained a Republic of Korea-flagged tanker.
Raising enrichment puts Iran a technical step away from enriching at 90 percent, the level needed to produce a nuclear warhead. Before the announcement, Iran was enriching uranium at around 4.5 percent. The nuclear deal, that Trump withdrew the US from, only allows for enrichment at 3.5%. That withdrawal has led to an increasing distrust between Iran and the US, as well as a series of escalating incidents that culminated in the killing of a top Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani.
Uranium enriched to up to 20 percent can be used to fuel nuclear reactors and Iran has a research reactor that uses near 20 percent enriched uranium, but the fuel is provided by other countries.
Iran has long denied seeking to develop a nuclear weapon and says doing so would be against Islam.
Topic: World News
Tags: Iran